Diary of Olivia Tutwiler (later Olivia
Tutwiler Hill), a young teacher living in Blacksburg and Childress, Virginia, in 1919. The
focus is primarily on a crush that Tutwiler had on a Virginia Tech cadet, but entries also
chronicle an active social life.

Alternate form available

Olivia Tutwiler, daughter of James B. M. and Meta Anderson Tutwiler, was born in Lexington,
Virginia on February 13, 1889. In 1904, the Tutwilers moved to Blacksburg, where they
operated the Blacksburg Inn. After obtaining her teaching certificate from Longwood College
(now Longwood University) in 1918, Tutwiler accepted a position as teacher at Childress
(Montgomery County), Virginia, where she boarded with the Palmer family. Later returning to
Blacksburg, she taught kindergarten for a year.

In 1922, Olivia Tutwiler married Henry H. "Bunker" Hill (1880-1954), a professor of
chemistry at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The couple would have two children, and Olivia
Hill would continue to operate a boarding house near the Hill's Main Street home. Hill
eventually opened her own kindergarten on Washington Street and also provided private
tutoring in her home. In 1952, she established a school in Blacksburg Presbyterian Church
and continued as its head until 1969; Hill continued to teach until retiring in 1973. Olivia
Tutwiler Hill died on August 6, 1974.

This collection consists of a diary maintained by Olivia Tutwiler (later Olivia Tutwiler
Hill), a young teacher living in Blacksburg and Childress, Virginia, during the first two
months of 1919. The diary begins with January 1, finding Tutwiler in Blacksburg, perhaps
during her school's winter break, living at home with her parents. The diary entries are
overwhelmingly concerned with Tutwiler's crush on an unidentified cadet at the nearby
Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and the entries are addressed to him as "dear boy." The
diarist writes often of her love for the cadet, while complaining of his lack of
consideration and of her frustration in trying to win his affection. She also mentions a
number of other cadets and young men, several of whom are pursuing her, but in whom she has
little interest. (Mentioned only a couple of times in passing is the name "Bunker," being
Henry "Bunker" Hill, whom Olivia Tutwiler would eventually marry.)

Interspersed within these entries are details of Tutwiler's activities: while staying in
Blacksburg, she picks up extra employment by performing clerical duties at the nearby
Virginia Cooperative Extension. She also mentions a number of social activities--attending
university basketball games and dances, throwing a birthday party, frequently making
candy--and discusses the movies she sees and the books she reads. Occasionally, her entries
touch on some of the larger issues of the day, mentioning people who have fallen victim to
the influenza epidemic of that year and acquaintances who have shipped overseas for service
in the war.

By February 3, Tutwiler is again living and teaching in the Childress community (but
returns at least twice to Blacksburg), and she mentions her local acquaintances, sometimes
relaying gossip. She frequently describes the weather and road conditions. She also makes
mention of some of the problems she encounters as a teacher, frequently complaining of her
students' lack of knowledge and discipline. The entries end with March 4, 1919.